Mali/Niger sign a peace deal agreement

Members of the coalition of movements of Azawad and the combatants of the Gatia are now in charge of the management of the city of Kidal, north of Mali.

The decision emerged from an agreement signed under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Niger by the two rival movements in Niamey this Sunday.

The agreement which provides for a “group of security management “ would enable the two forces a joint presence at the various check-points in the region.

According to the document, the same cooperation would be extend in terms of socio-economic activities in the area.

The signing of the Agreement between the group, will in addition, help to reduce the tension between the two militias who clashed in recent months for the control of Kidal.

And also help to identify the influence of Ansar Eddine in the region.

The facilitators of the Niger and Algiers agreement hoped that the document of agreement of Niamey is a first step for the stabilization of the North of Mali.

The initiators said they are committed to the Algiers Agreement signed in May 2015 with the Government of Bamako.

Violent protests that were met with deadly force in Mali this week are the latest sign a peace pact between rival ethnic groups risks unraveling, threatening to plunge the nation back into the chaos that made it a launchpad for Jihadist attacks.

The lawlessness created by the fighting allowed militant Islamist groups including al Qaeda’s regional wing to spread, seize control of the desert north and launch attacks against targets in Mali and its neighbours.

The U.N.-backed peace deal was supposed to give the government space to tackle this threat.

Any signs it could fail will sound alarm bells in Washington and other Western capitals which have long feared Mali could became a haven for militants to launch Jihadist attacks around the world.